The Kinyan Mesechta page (“Owning a Tractate”) is a program that facilitates tremendous success in Torah learning through a simple, guided program that emphasizes review.To join in Passaic, contact R. Henry Harris, info@jewishcenterforwellbeing.com. Outside of Passaic, contact R. Dovid Newman atVhaarevna@gmail.com.

Passaic Chabura Archives: Sukkah CH. 1Participant Feedback:"The fundamentals of the program are spot on, phenomenal. This is the first time I feel I've really begun to achieve success in learning. The ability to walk in 10 minutes before Mincha, open up a regular gemara, and make an easy leining is incredible. Transformative." Matt Baker"I understand the gemara much better and I enjoy this learning much more. The program keeps me on the right path, I'm succeeding, and it doesn't take much time." Daniel Davatgar

The wellbeing and success of a Jew depends in part on successful Torah study. Torah is the “instrument through which G-d created the world” (Talmud, Avos). It is invincible: Torah is not shaped by this world; it shapes and illuminates it. Anyone who succeeds in Torah study will similarly not only not be defeated by life’s burdens, he will be a source of Divine wisdom and joy to himself and others.

The key is Torah study that is successful. How does one succeed? Rabbi Dovid Newman has emphasized the teachings of Jewish tradition in helping hundreds of high school boys and adults literally transform their relationship with Torah, specifically through study of Talmud.

1) Prioritize clarity, not pace. Clarity sets the stage for massive amounts of review, which sets the stage for long term mastery, which allows for deep enjoyment and connection. It is impossible to succeed in Torah without the mastery and enjoyment that come from massive review. Massive review begins with prioritizing clarity.Emphasizing pace means equating success with quantity even if the material is unclear. This makes review burdensome and places massive review – and the pleasure of knowing and owning Torah – beyond reach.

2) Make your learning “reviewable.”Either with the help of a rebbe or written explanations, write directly on the page of the Gemara the succinct translations and notes you need to make review of the material as smooth and obstacle free as possible.

3) Do massive review. (See below)

4) Be part of a group. There is nothing like the power of a shared goal to assist one overcoming the normal pitfalls, distractions, and discouragement involved in pursuit of a challenge.

Jewish Sages through the Ages on Successful Torah Study (excerpted with permission from The One-Minute Masmid, Rabbi Jonathan Rietti)

Maharal of Prague, Sefer HaDrashos (“Al HaTorah”)I will conclude with that which is the very foundation of learning and upon which the entire Torah is dependent…and that is review of one’s learning.

Reviewing one’s learning as many times as it takes until one has mastery of the information. “Mastery” means he has the information at his fingertips, his mind can recall the information instantly and be able to say what the information is and where it is. This is when Torah will return to its past glory.

Letters of the Steipler (#10, Page 18, paragraph 11)The correct way to learn a section of Gemara is to chunk it down to its details. So for example, one page of Gemara could be divided into 10 or more different points (a question would be one detail, the answer, another detail. A quote from a Braisa would be another detail, a contradiction from another opinion would be yet another detail).

Learn each detail clearly, once you have understood it, then review that detail four times. Keep moving through the page this way, and after each review of each detail, go back to the beginning of the discussion at the head of the page and read it through to where you are up to, this way you keep your mind engaged in the flow of the sugyia. By the time you reach the end of the topic, you will have learned each independent detail four times and will have doubled back to the beginning of the topic several times.

If you learn this way, then with absolute certainty, you will be successful and still more, you will experience a deep sensation of the beautify of learning. If you don’t let go of this simple advice, you will soon see yourself climbing higher and higher with the help of HaShem. If you can find a good learning partner to learn this way together, even better.

The Vilna Gaon (Even Shlaima, Chapter 8)Don’t overburden yourself beyond your ability and level in learning, instead, progress gradually in pacing your learning so that the learning is easy and not beyond you, otherwise you will end up despising learning, G-d forbid.

The Vilna Gaon (Letters of the GR”A)When a person experiences the satisfaction of turning pages of Gemara and then reviewing them again and again till he has mastery, this will bring him to a deep craving to learn more and it will enthuse him with a deep passion for learning. His passion during the learning should not be with haste and desperation to move forward and thus sacrifice comprehension, instead it should be a gentle, steady pace that lends itself to learning with a feeling of calm and pleasure.

Chasam SoferPossibly the greatest trap of the Yetser Hara is to convince you that it’s not worth learning for these five minutes. When he has convinced us that a freed up five minutes is too short a time to get into any real learning, that’s where he really has you trapped. Once you do not see the point in learning for a mere five minutes, before long you will not value ten minutes and then twenty. Then when you have an hour free your mind will not tell you to open a Torah book, you will be distracted by something else, perhaps it will be a Mitzvah, so long as you gradually leave learning.